Tag Archives: business thinking

July 9, 2008 · 10:48 pm

Asking the right question

Interesting article out of Purdue U on golfers’ perceptions of hole size while putting.

46 golfers were asked to estimate the size of the hole after they played a round of golf. The diameter of a golf hole is 10.8 centimeters. The golfers selected from a poster one of nine black holes that ranged in size from 9-13 centimeters. Those who selected larger holes were the same players who had better scores on the course that day.

They did some further testing in a lab and found participants who putted closer drew the circle to be bigger than those who putted farther away.

This goes to one of my favorite points – asking the right question is more important than getting the right answer since you’ll NEVER get the latter without the former.  In this case, maybe someone should have asked the good putters (who may or may NOT be the better golfers) what they were looking at while putting.  I can tell you from a lot (way too much, probably) of time spent putting that one really doesn’t look at the hole while putting.  Great putters know that all putts are straight if they’re hit properly- it’s the green that makes them move.  Because of that, one judges the line and speed and picks a spot to which you putt – it’s usually NOT the hole.  Pelz Golf Institute research shows that less than five per cent of all putts are perfectly straight (the green moves them!) so you’re not aiming at the hole 95% of the time.

Another, smaller point is that of COURSE the hole looks bigger when you’re closer to it!  (As an aside, as the parent of a Michigan grad, I’m really holding back on the Boilermaker comments right now…).  Chances are the the better golfers were the ones putting closer to the hole as well.

Ask the right questions and if you’re in unfamiliar territory as these researchers seemd to be, ask a native for directions.

1 Comment

Filed under Consulting, Helpful Hints

Tagged as , , ,

July 2, 2008 · 9:15 pm

Change the Game

I read this article from the WashPo with great interest:

Businesses, governments and universities reported a 69 percent increase in data breaches in the first half of 2008 compared with a similar period in 2007, according to a study by a nonprofit group that works to prevent fraud.

As long as hundreds of thousands of sites have data that they need to secure, this issue isn’t going away.  Unless, of course, we change the game.

Why not store all data in one place, much the way we store much of our own data in “the cloud.”  Then when you or I start up a business, only give us access to the portions of that data we need and DO NOT let us store it ourselves – we tap the central repository to get what we need – no more, no less, and even then we don’t actually get it (it’s all read-only).

Think this won’t work?  Where does your Facebook data live?  Not on your PC.  When all those apps tap it, think they’re hitting you up?  Nope.  They get what they need, keep what’s truly theirs, and only use a key of some sort to associate the two.

Sometimes the way to solve the problem is to change the way the game is played.  It HAS to be easier to monitor and secure a single database than hundred of thousands (and I”m sure all the coders will tell me why I’m wrong).  Yes, a breech of the sole repository would be…um..bad but it will, IMHO, be far less likely.

And I guess a business guy writing about tech is changing the game as well!

Leave a comment

Filed under Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , ,

July 1, 2008 · 10:19 pm

Free Wheeling

Way back in 1932, Hal Roach made a Little Rascals short called Free Wheeling.  This is the one where Dickie has a stiff neck and his mother insists on treating him like an invalid.  Stymie takes him for a ride in the Gang’s new taxi.  Long story short, although nothing could possibly go wrong, it does and Stymie finds himself going downhill at breakneck speed with no breaks.  At this point, someone asks him “Stymie, where are you going?” to which he utters one of my favorite maxims:

Stymie“I don’t know, brothah, but we’re on our way!.”

It dawns on me that if you can’t take that ride with Stymie, the world of digital media isn’t a very easy place for you these days.  Too often we take decisions based on the facts we have and move forward, often forgetting that the circumstances of this business change as often as the sun comes up.   If you think in absolutes then you are absolutely likely to fail.

There’s an entire field of study devoted to fuzzy logic, which I think is about the best anyone can expect with respect to business decisions in this field.   Anyone place big bets on all those dial-up ISP’s?  Good decision at the time.  Not so much these days.  Place all your eggs in the Google Video basket while ignoring YouTube?  Well, they were quick to change their plans – did yours change as well?

Things change.  Often the problems we have arise because we stop paying attention after we set out down a path.  Evaluate the facts, make the best decisions you can.  Paralysis through analysis never wins.  Get on the ride and get going.  But don’t take your eyes off the road because there’s probably a curve coming and you need to negotiate the turn smoothly.  Otherwise, you, Stymie, and the rest of the Rascals are in for a nasty bump.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , ,